Shafaq News– Baghdad
More than 1,000 suspected ISIS members are now under formal investigation by the Iraqi judiciary after their transfer from detention facilities in Syria, the Supreme Judicial Council announced on Monday.
In a statement, the council said the First Al-Karkh Investigation Court has opened legal proceedings against 1,387 detainees, with counterterrorism judges conducting the investigations under the direct supervision of the head of the Supreme Judicial Council. The judiciary, it added, will handle the cases “within the approved legal and humanitarian frameworks,” in line with Iraqi law and international standards.
The council described the investigations as part of Iraq’s efforts to complete case files and prosecute those implicated in crimes committed by ISIS, in parallel with international coordination on cases involving acts that may amount to “genocide and crimes against humanity.”
The transfers followed earlier security tensions in northeastern Syria between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and Damascus authorities that affected ISIS detention facilities. In response, United States Central Command began relocating detainees to facilities under Iraqi authority, as part of a broader plan covering nearly 7,000 detainees.
The Iraqi government, in turn, has adopted a “comprehensive roadmap” and formed a “unified security committee” to manage detainees and ensure their referral to the judiciary, stressing that the relocation constitutes “a purely security decision aimed at protecting Iraq.”